Master of the Shadows
by Drizzt1138
Summary: Sequel to "Servant of the Shadows". Mulder and Scully chase Ticci-Toby into a forest only to end up facing his master: the Slenderman. Please rate and review!


The X-Files: Season 10

Master of the Shadows

FBI Headquarters

Washington, D.C.

7:06 A.M.

Scully had come into the office early that morning, hanging up her coat and getting to work. It had been getting much colder recently as summer quickly lost ground to autumn. As she hung up her coat, she remembered the thick layer of frost she had removed from her car before driving to the workplace.

She hadn't bothered to turn on all the lights, just the one at her desk. She figured that as long as there was enough light to see the paperwork in front of her, then it was enough. Yet as she worked, she began to feel a presence nearby, in the darkness all around her. She looked around herself with a trained eye, searching for the source of the ominous feeling she was getting. There was nothing out of the ordinary. That is, until she heard a great _bang_ from behind her.

Scully nearly jumped out of her seat, whirling around to see Mulder standing in the doorway. "Ticci-Toby has escaped," Mulder said breathlessly. "There have also been several more disappearances in Pennsylvania with a possible connection to him. We've been assigned to check it out."

En route to Lawrence County, PA

9:14 P.M.

It took them a long time to work through all the red tape at the Bureau, but eventually they were able to make their way up to the place where Ticci-Toby was last seen.

Mulder explained the situation as they drove towards the site of the investigation. Apparently, Ticci-Toby had escaped from prison through means that were, as yet, completely unknown. There had been no sign of a breakout, and no footage had been taken of one either; in fact, the only thing that seemed amiss at all was the period of static that was followed by a picture of an empty cell, the one Toby had previously occupied.

After having disappeared, the killer re-appeared in the same place they were now heading to. He had reportedly pulled a knife on several people, stabbing several of them to death, before the local police station was able to dispatch an officer, who then chased him into a nearby forest. At that point they had lost him, so that was where the two agents would go looking for him.

When they arrived, it was already dusk, and they found only a single police car. Mulder approached the officer standing beside it. "Agent Mulder, FBI. I'm the one assigned to this case, along with my partner here. Are you the only one on duty here?"

The officer shook his head. "No, the rest of the force is surrounding the forest, making sure he doesn't get out unless he's in handcuffs. You're the ones we're sending in there to take this guy in."

Mulder nodded. "Thank you. Now is there anything else we need to know about the situation?"

The man shook his head. "Nothing other than the fact that he's considered to be armed and dangerous, and that the entire forest has a chain link fence around its perimeter. He shouldn't be getting out any time soon, but… be careful in there, ok?" While the officer's words were comforting, he still seemed more than a little afraid. Mulder gave him a reassuring smile, then motioned to Scully and headed into the forest.

It wasn't long before they came upon the fence that the officer had mentioned. They walked for a bit, but they couldn't find a gate of any kind, so eventually they just opted to climb over the fence instead. By the time they were over the other side it was completely dark, and the stars were coming out. They took out their guns with one hand, and their flashlights with the other.

After a while they came upon a large, monolithic structure among the trees. They glanced over at each other, and then began searching around it, trying to see if Ticci-Toby had been nearby. It wasn't long before Mulder called his partner over. He pointed out a note that had been somehow attached to the stone. On it was a rough stick-figure and the words "leave me alone". "It looks like it could be his handwriting," Mulder noted. "He could be trying to intimidate us."

Scully nodded and placed the note in an evidence bag. As she did, the air temperature seemed to drop sharply, and she got the feeling she was being watched again. She whirled around and held her gun aloft, but saw nothing. She slowly placed the evidence bag in her pocket, then continued walking, motioning for Mulder to follow.

They did not heed the warning.

Lawrence County, Pennsylvania

9:49 P.M.

It wasn't long before the two agents ran into another strange note. They found a blue truck sitting with both doors open, and there it was, lying on the passenger seat. Mulder picked it up, examining it. This one had no words, just another stick figure among the trees. When he picked it up, Scully felt another chill down her back, and the sense that she was being watched grew stronger. "Did you feel that, Mulder?"

He hesitated. "Yes, I felt it. But for once, I'm not so keen on trying to figure out what it was. All I want to focus on now is finding Toby, ok?"

Scully contemplated this. Mulder wasn't really acting like himself. However, she decided to let it slide for the moment. "Can you get this truck to work? That would make the search a whole lot easier."

Mulder got into the driver's side of the truck. The keys were already in the ignition, but when he turned them, there was nothing but dead silence. He turned to his partner and shook his head. "Mechanics are not my specialty. Looks like we have to go on foot for now."

And so they did. They decided to backtrack a bit, to make sure they covered their search area well enough. Unfortunately, the entire forest pretty much looked the same, and they got more than a little lost pretty quickly.

That was when they came upon the tunnel. It was a large, concrete structure embedded in the forest floor. The two agents went in with guns raised, but they did not find Ticci-Toby in there. They did, however, find another note.

This one was just writing. "Don't look… Or it takes you". It was somehow attached to the curved surface of the tunnel. She reached out to take it. This time when Scully picked up the note, the chill wasn't just accompanied by a sense of being watched. This time she saw in her periphery what was watching her.

She turned around, weapon raised. At the end of the tunnel, she saw what appeared to be a strangely tall, thin man in a suit. But even more abnormal than "his" height were the features of "his" face- or rather, the lack thereof. The thing's head was pale and spotless, without any sign of nose, eyes, mouth or ears.

Scully fired off three rounds with her Sig Sauer pistol- three rounds that in the confined space of the tunnel echoed like thunder, each flash of the muzzle like a lightning strike. Each one appeared to have absolutely no effect on the creature as it just stood there, apparently watching them. She fired off three shots, and that was all she could get off before her vision started to fill with a kind of… static, accompanied by the shrill sound of white noise. She instinctively looked away, as did Mulder. When the static had cleared, the thing was gone.

Mulder grabbed her hand, and suddenly he was pulling her along through the forest. Scully didn't mind at all, of course- she just wanted to get as far away from that thing as possible. But when they reached the big, gnarled, leafless tree, she stopped. "Mulder, what is going on?! What was that thing?"

Mulder glanced over at the tree. She followed his gaze to see what he was looking at. Attached to the tree was another one of the strange notes: "Can't run". "I think I know what's going on here, Scully, but you're not gonna like it."

He turned toward her. He didn't look at her, though; she followed his gaze to the flashlight she held in her hands. She realized the beam was already starting to dim. "There's a game that used to be popular called 'Slender: The Eight Pages'. In it, the player is trapped in the forest with a flashlight. The object of the game is to search the forest for eight pages with writing on them referring to the Slenderman. And…" He hesitated. "… The Slenderman is in the forest with the player. And with each page the player collects, it becomes more aggressive."

Scully sighed, trying to be her normal, skeptical self. But after seeing that terrifying creature in the tunnel, it took some effort. "Mulder, you're not suggesting we're in a video game, are you?"

Mulder shook his head. "No, nothing like that. What I am saying is that maybe Ticci-Toby is replicating the game. Whoever he is, he at least believes that he's a proxy of the Slenderman. That would give him a motive to lead us here, into this forest, and set up the notes."

"But Mulder, what was that- that thing in the tunnel? It definitely wasn't Ticci-Toby!"

Mulder was silent for another moment. Then he shook his head again. "I don't know, maybe it is the Slenderman. It fit the description perfectly. Maybe somehow Ticci-Toby summoned him here by setting up the pages. Anyway, it doesn't really matter what it is. What does matter is finding Toby and getting out of this forest."

He grabbed the note and stuffed it in his pocket. Once again they felt the chill run down their backs. Scully wasn't sure if it was because of how scared she was now, but it seemed stronger somehow. Regardless, Mulder had started walking off, so she followed, a great deal of urgency in her stride.

Lawrence County, Pennsylvania

10:14 P.M.

The next note wasn't far away. It seemed almost too easy to find them, but at the same time, if Mulder was right, the situation became more dangerous each time they found one. With each one they knew that they were getting closer to escaping the whole ordeal, but they also knew that the creature out there, whatever it was, was getting closer to them.

They found this note on the side of a small shed. There was another truck near it, but when the agents tried to get it to work they again found that it wouldn't budge. They also tried opening the shed, but the door seemed as immovable as the truck.

Having exhausted all their options, Mulder decided to just bite the bullet and take the note. Once he had taken it, he rounded the corner of the shed- and his vision immediately filled with static. The Slenderman was right there in front of him, tentacles writhing, and even as he turned away, he could feel himself growing cold and weak. Scully caught him just before he fell, making sure not to look up as she slowly walked away from the creature.

It only took a few seconds for the static to subside, but the cold, weak feeling in Mulder's chest didn't go away. Still, he was able to get up, and once again he and Scully fled from the place as soon as they knew it was safe to do so. They ran through the forest for a few more minutes before coming to a low brick building with a green roof. There were no doors, so they were able to run in without pause. Once inside, they found it to be filled with unlit, tiled hallways. Even as they ran, their flashlights dimmed.

Soon the two agents came to a dead end, so they stopped and turned around, pistols at the ready. But thankfully, there was nothing there; just the doorway they had come in through. Scully sighed in relief and slumped down against the wall. Mulder started searching the room, and of course he found another note. When he pointed it out, Scully sighed again, this time in exasperation. "You know, Mulder, I'm really starting to get sick of those things."

Mulder shook his head in confusion. "Scully, something's wrong… listen to this: "Help me". It says "help me". What if Toby is trying to tell us something? What if he's the victim here? In the story, he wasn't always a proxy; he started out as just a normal guy. What if under the guise of insanity, that normal guy is still in there? What if he's trying to help us somehow?"

This time Scully barely even bothered to listen. "Mulder, you have no idea how ridiculous you sound right now! Even if your previous theory is correct, that makes next to no sense! You're just trying to rationalize something that- that I'm not sure can be rationalized!"

Mulder said nothing. She paused, and then took out her phone. "I'm calling for help," she said. She tried to unlock her phone, but found it to be turned off. She tried to turn it back on again, but it seemed to be out of power. She shoved it back into her pocket out of frustration. "We need to finish this case. Come on." And with that, she walked out of the room.

Out of frustration and defiance, Mulder turned around and snatched the note off the wall. As he did, he got the now-familiar chill down his back… but the feeling that he was being watched was much, much stronger than normal. He slowly turned around… and there it was. Static instantly filled his vision, the harsh ringing noise pierced his ears, and he doubled over in pain.

Despite the distinct, unnatural chill in the air, sweat flowed down his brow. The static faded, but he could tell it was still there. Still watching. Waiting to take him whenever he was foolish enough to look up again. So instead he just watched the beam of his flashlight. But he found no comfort there; it was quickly fading. Even as he watched, it flickered and died.

He was trapped in the dark. With the Slenderman.

Lawrence County, Pennsylvania

10:32 P.M.

Scully felt the chill as well. She hesitated to turn though. First, she cocked her gun, using the fading light to make sure that it was ready and functional. She dreaded the thought of turning to see the creature, but at the same time felt a sense of urgency.

When she did turn, she did so very slowly, keeping her weapon level. She shielded her eyes, making sure not to look, but at the same time using her peripheral view of the walls to carefully aim down the hallway. It became more and more difficult with every passing second as her flashlight dimmed, but she was fairly certain she was aiming in the right direction. Once she saw fairly certain that she was aiming properly, she fired off two shots at the creature, each one making a flash that radiated out into her periphery. And then she ran.

By the time she had gotten off the second shot, her flashlight had died. Scully didn't really care, though; all she did care about in that instant was getting away. Blindly, she felt the walls around her with shaking limbs. Several times she slipped and fell, but she kept on moving, scrabbling along, frantically trying to get away.

After what felt like eons, she finally burst out into the forest, sprinting full-tilt away from the building. She still felt the chill, though, the hunted feeling that now she knew she could not escape. She also felt the adrenaline, so familiar and yet not comforting. Instead, it was driving her over the edge. It felt like it was tearing her body apart even as that very same body used it for fuel. She ran desperately, each step an attempt to launch herself just a bit further away from her pursuer.

She ran like her life depended on it.

Meanwhile Mulder had stayed doubled over in his corner, not daring to look up, until he heard the gunshots roar through the halls. As soon as he did, he felt the presence go away, or at least move further away from him. Slowly, cautiously, he looked up. If it weren't for the lack of static clouding his vision, it would have been impossible to tell whether or not his pursuer had really gone away or not.

As he brought himself upright again, he spread out his arms, feeling the walls in order to give himself a sense of where to go. His hands were slick with sweat, and slipped along the walls as he slowly made his way to the empty doorway where the Slenderman had been standing only moments before. After that, it took him several minutes to fumble through the hallways of the building. He kept his eyes closed, to prevent the static from overtaking his vision again. But even then, with each step he dreaded running into the monster that was hunting him.

After a long while, he too came out of the building. Keeping low to avoid falling, he kept his arms out in front of him so that he didn't run into any trees. He moved as fast as he could, knowing that he probably looked completely ridiculous but not caring. He just wanted to get away as fast as he could.

He managed to avoid most of the trees, but not the Slenderman itself. As he came out of the trees and back onto a path, he started to see static gathering at the edges of his vision. It didn't seem to be as much as before though. He assumed that it must have been off to the side, so that he wasn't looking directly at it. Still, that must have also meant that it was growing more powerful.

Trying to move away from where he assumed the monster was, he moved back into the trees. He ducked and dodged through the foliage, trying his best not to get cornered. There were times when he felt the presence go away for a while, but it would soon be back. Eventually he figured out that it must have been chasing Scully wherever she was as well, teleporting between the two of them. It was hard to keep track of directions, but it seemed as though every time he took a turn, the static would come back.

At about the same time, Scully ran into something metal. She did not expect this, and she screamed aloud briefly in pain and surprise. Unfortunately, this seemed to lure the creature even closer. She felt it, it was right behind her now, and she was up against what seemed to be a metal wall. She stifled a sob as the cold air wrapped around her, sucking the life from her very bones and yet giving her more of that unstable, destructive energy.

Slowly, she felt around in front of her. She moved to the side, trying to move away from the thing before it got a chance to take her. She slid farther and farther along, until suddenly she was falling, with nothing to stop her descent.

She fell into the dirt, on her hands and knees. The gas tank she had been leaning against merely a few seconds before had ended abruptly, causing her to fall to the ground. Now she was crawling away, scrabbling across the dusty soil, but she also felt that it had moved farther away for the moment. She used this opportunity to get up off the ground, rising to her feet and running forward, but finding another tank in her way as she did so.

As she slid along the side of this tank, her hand moved over a different material than the metal she had been leaning against. As she shuffled along, she knocked the page off of where it had been attached to the side of the tank. She looked towards where she heard it rustle to the ground.

The cold enveloped her again as the static almost completely filled her vision.

Lawrence County, Pennsylvania

10:49 P.M.

Mulder had known that the monster was driving him towards the fence. There was nothing he could have done about it. So he just kept running, hoping that he wouldn't hit anything, prolonging his life for just a little bit longer. But now he hit the fence, and he knew it was over. He just stood there, clinging to the links of the fence, not daring to turn around but still knowing that it was there. If he turned around now, his death would surely meet him there.

Suddenly, he felt the chill of a note being taken roll down his back, and suddenly the monster was gone. He realized that Scully must have found a note, and now the Slenderman was focusing on her. He also realized this was probably the one opportunity he would get to survive. He turned around, running in a random direction, hoping to whatever powers were out there that he would find some way to keep going.

After about a minute or so, he ran into a wall. The rough surface of the bricks cut into his hands, but he didn't care, he just needed to get away. He started feeling his way along the wall, but he stopped when his hand hit a different material entirely. He felt yet another chill run down his back as he took the final note off the rough face of the wall.

Elsewhere in the forest, Scully was still trapped against the gas tank. The cold was beyond overwhelming, and the static was getting thicker by the second, with intermittent flashes. The sound felt like it was cutting into her eardrums, becoming deafening. She doubled over in pain and fear, instinctively trying to protect herself.

She could have sworn she saw tendrils of shadow on the edges of her vision, she could feel the thing's tentacles reaching out to grab her. She wanted to scream, to run, to hide, but she was completely paralyzed. Then she saw it; she saw it's face, or lack thereof, in the static. It's smooth, white face seemed to be staring at her somehow, looking into the very depths of her soul.

Just as the cold became unbearable, as the image before her eyes began to flicker out as she lost consciousness, she felt another chill up her back. The tentacles and the cold and the pain suddenly disappeared. And as she drifted out of the waking world, she knew that she was finally safe.

Field Journal

Agent Dana Scully, Federal Bureau of Investigation

November 28, 2015

Upon regaining consciousness, I was able to find Agent Mulder without much trouble. Due to the ordeal we had been through, we decided to cut the search short and leave the forest. Some officers were sent in after we came out, but the fugitive calling himself Ticci-Toby was nowhere to be found. Nor were they able to find any signs of the entity Agent Mulder and I have described. Since the events of this case, Agent Mulder and I have been put on a leave of absence due to mental health reasons. The fugitive remains at large, and the case remains open and unsolved.


End file.
